WootBot

Put down your glass for a second and give a warm Wine.Woot welcome to our newest guest blogger, Steve De Long of De Long's Wine Info, publisher of our favorite wine charts, maps, and books. The wine experts at De Long's are masters at making it easy for the rest of us to fake it. For his debut column, Steve answers a question that's occurred to any American who reads tasting notes: what are "blackcurrant" and "cassis"?

“Everybody knows the blackcurrant bush.”
-Le Nez du Vin, Jean Lenoir

Blackcurrant is the most common flavor descriptor of the most popular grape variety in the world: Cabernet Sauvignon. At least the British think so. American wine writers tend to use the term cassis, which is French for blackcurrant.

You may be asking yourself: wait a minute - what’s going on here? I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a blackcurrant in my life, much less seen a blackcurrant bush. Am I supposed to know this? Is Bacchus once again laughing hideously at my woeful ignorance of wine? And when did American wine writers become such Francophiles that they use a French term over a perfectly good English one?...

Don’t be so hard on yourself. The reason that virtually all Americans are not familiar with blackcurrant is simple: until recently it was illegal to grow them in the US. Although popular in the 19th century in America, blackcurrants were banned in the early 20th century by the US government; their bushes can carry a disease fatal to white pines that threatened the then booming timber industry. The federal ban
was finally lifted in 1966, but it took until 2003 for several states, including Connecticut, New York, Oregon and Vermont, to make it legal to grow blackcurrants in the US again. 1

OK, but what about American wine writers using French over English? That’s because their exposure to blackcurrant flavor was (and probably still is) through Crème de Cassis, a liqueur made from blackcurrants, which is more commonly known simply as “cassis” in the US.

The British have a huge head start in being able to recognize blackcurrant. One of their most popular children’s drinks is Ribena, which is a sweetened blackcurrant drink. Is there any accident that their favorite wine region is Bordeaux, the homeland of Cabernet Sauvignon? They even have a special name for red Bordeaux wines: claret (which is pronounced with the t since it’s an English term, although derived from French).

I can remember trying to get a grip on blackcurrant when I was living in New York City. Blackcurrant jam and Crème de Cassis were available but I wanted to find a more pure, unadulterated version. The best I could find was a Belgian brand of blackcurrant juice – which must be in the top ten of brand names that do not travel well – called Looza. It never really caught on. Go figure.

In addition to Ribena, British children also enjoy blackcurrant flavored candies. This is where the attractiveness of blackcurrant gets lost on me – the candies seem to taste a little rubbery, rubber as in a Pirelli or a Goodyear. While some British children would eat only the blackcurrant candies in a pack of Maynard’s Wine Gums (interesting name but they contain no wine) I could imagine American children doing just the opposite.

In this way, blackcurrant aromas can be perceived in sulfur compounds in wine that are often considered faults. These volatile sulfur compounds can be pleasant at lower levels (tropical fruit, gooseberry, blackcurrant) but awful at high levels (cat’s pee, burnt rubber, rotten cabbage).2 This seems to make sense as it’s not difficult to imagine the funky and gamey qualities of blackcurrant morphing into something foul. Perhaps this dark, potentially dangerous (and smelly) side is what makes blackcurrant so attractive.

We did a tasting of several Cabernet Sauvignons to see which gave us the biggest, purest sensation of blackcurrant. Five California fighting varietals vs. the popular South American, Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo took part in the smackdown. Each wine’s blackcurrant power is rated on a scale of 1(not detectable) to 10 (total blackcurrant pumptitude).

Sebastini Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County 2005 $16
A very attractive nose, blackcurrants and violets with a touch of oak. The fruit is very concentrated but the violets distract too much – albeit in a good way – to give it more than an eight. 8/10

Hawk Crest Cabernet Sauvignon California 2005 $14
This was the most subdued of the bunch with blackcurrant a virtual no-show. It’s much more sour cherry, cedar and Dr. Pepper. 2/10

It was probably a forgone conclusion that the most inexpensive wines of the bunch would provide the simplest, most fruit-forward expression of blackcurrants. It’s a funny way to taste: we weren’t interested in balance, subtlety or nuance. We also kept referring back to our reference aromas: bottles of Crème de Cassis and Ribena. Still, it’s nice to know that you can get a good idea of what blackcurrant tastes like without shelling out too much; or enduring the embarrassment of buying a bottle of Looza.

nallie

Wow; what an informative and enjoyable contribution. Thank you so much!

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." - h.keller
"If you can do something about it, there is no need to worry. If you cannot do anything about it, there is no use in worrying." - j.white (and also Shantideva)

afranke

I always keep a bottle of good Creme de Cassis on hand for when novice wine tasters inevitably ask "watching the films is blackcurrant/cassis?" Also, the stuff is tasty (even if considered a "chick drink").

PetiteSirah

1) You actually have Syrah/Shiraz as a bigger grape than PS on the wine varietal chart? Seriously? We PSychos demand you rectify this grave insult in the next edition!

2) Coming along well on the road to doppelmembership -- I'm at about 146 or so, thanks to some Marselan last night. When is the next version of the grape chart going to come out? Is there somewhere we can submit suggestions or know what you guys are going to add? (e.g., prieto picudo). It would also be really helpful if you guys had a "grape thesaurus" online so that we could tell things, like, e.g., lladoner pelut = garnacha peluda, or that sangio grosso and sangio piccolo are both (still) considered the same grape as sangio

nallie

PetiteSirah wrote:Steve -- my copy is the one that woot offered most recently. Should I complain to you or to winedavid?

You should not complain to anybody, dear nephew. You should know that sometimes the things that are super cheap on w.w are blown out for a reason other than the incriminating pics WineDavid seems to inevitably have in his possession. Change it with a magic marker. It will be so kitschy that it'll be hip, I promise.

On an unrelated note to Tenuki. Dude. Why the hating on the r rolling? Many people I know consider that a plus.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." - h.keller
"If you can do something about it, there is no need to worry. If you cannot do anything about it, there is no use in worrying." - j.white (and also Shantideva)

tenuki

nallie wrote:On an unrelated note to Tenuki. Dude. Why the hating on the r rolling? Many people I know consider that a plus.

Yeah, I know, but it's java!

And sorry I didn't mention it before but it was definitely an enjoyable post o black currant. There's a black currant cider from Fox Barrel at the pool hall that I drink sometimes, I wonder where that'd rate.

kylemittskus

I realize that this isn't about tasting profiles in general, but about a specific one. Nevertheless, I will press on. I read a nose/flavor profile of wine today (I think it was a viogner) and as one of the scents/tastes was cactus! Has anyone encountered this? If I have, I'm not sure I would have been able to recognize it anyway.

"If drinking is bitter, change yourself to wine." -Rainer Maria Rilke

"Champagne is a very kind and friendly thing on a rainy night." -Isak Dinesen

polarbear22

Last night at the farm stand where I pick up their fresh made ice cream, I found a bottle of black currant juice from A Currant Affair. Had to buy it and try it after reading this. They added a lot of sugar, so I will have to see what it tastes like not first thing in the morning.

We also found a bottle of black currant wine. A dessert wine in a half-bottle. Not sure when we will open and check it out.

Cesare

I just picked up a bottle of Mathilde blackcurrant liqueur. Very interesting stuff. It's like nothing I've had before but I could instantly see how it is found in Cabernet. It has this dark sweet aroma but with underlying green, vegetal, brambly notes and some else, almost...medicinal. It is sweet tasting but a little tart at the same time and not jammy or syrupy. Great concentration and a nice long bittersweet finish.

-il CesareSole Absolute Triple
Exalted High Tastemaster Supreme
“In the entire world there are only a few sounds that bring joy to all but the most jaded. One is the murmur of a kitten purring. Another is the thwack of a well-pitched baseball hitting a perfectly swung bat. And the third is the pop of a cork being pulled from a bottle of wine.” —George Taber

boatman72

Great article Steve! Very informative in that it has peaked my curiosity. How close are the tastes of blackberry and black current? Does black current come through as black licorice in wine? I'm going to have to find some juice of each to find out.

vquasarv

Looza is available at several stores near me, I like to dilute it with sparkling water, its delicious. I haven't done this is several months though, so I need to make sure they still have the black currant flavor!

Three other tasting options:
1. Black currant preserves. I love a PB&J with black currant preserves. It is my favorite jam to have on a PB&J.

2. This is a 'fakish' taste, but one that I grew up with. Many tea-makers make black currant flavored tea including Twinings.

SchoolgirlWino

vquasarv wrote:As the son of a Brit living in America, I love black currant as well.

Looza is available at several stores near me, I like to dilute it with sparkling water, its delicious. I haven't done this is several months though, so I need to make sure they still have the black currant flavor!

Three other tasting options:
1. Black currant preserves. I love a PB&J with black currant preserves. It is my favorite jam to have on a PB&J.

2. This is a 'fakish' taste, but one that I grew up with. Many tea-makers make black currant flavored tea including Twinings.

3. At my local store in the bulk goods section you can get dried currants as well. I like to add them to my oatmeal.

Very entertaining post on the Black Current. Being British myself I grew up on Ribena. Black Current drink is high in vitamin C, and since oranges don't grow well in England, kids drink Ribena instead. The growing season for them is very limited, so getting fresh berries is difficult unless your in a place that grows them at the right time of year. Additionally, they are like Cranberries - you cannot eat them raw - they need to be cooked with sugar to be palatable. I was recently staying outside of Beaune, and our hostess made fresh Blackcurrent compote - I was in heaven - and will most likely stay there again JUST for the compote.

A few years back I discovered that by combining a few ingredients together, I could get a close match. They are Rhubarb and Blueberry. It's not a perfect match but close. Also - you can always find canned Black currents in an English food store.

dayoff53

I know, this is old news - the blog entry was almost 3 months ago - but I just got around to reading it. That was a very helpful and informative piece. I now have a much better idea what people are referring to when they talk about "black currant" - and an understanding of why the reference was so common but so obtuse to me.
Thank you! I hope to see more from you.

Woot.com is operated by Woot Services LLC.
Products on Woot.com are sold by Woot, Inc., other than items on Wine.Woot which are sold by the seller specified on the product detail page.
Product narratives are for entertainment purposes and frequently employ
literary point of view;
the narratives do not express Woot's editorial opinion.
Aside from literary abuse, your use of this site also subjects you to Woot's
terms of use
and
privacy policy.
Woot may designate a user comment as a Quality Post, but that doesn't mean we agree with or guarantee anything said or linked to in that post.